A fire policeman stands at the entrance to Knouse Foods on Orrtanna Rd., Orrtanna, Tuesday morning. A hazardous materials incident was reported at the plant and workers were evacuated. (Markell DeLoatch — for The Evening Sun)

A tractor-trailer fire at a Knouse Foods Cooperative plant in western Adams County sent 11 people to area hospitals Tuesday morning, according to emergency officials.

Cold, snow-speckled winds in Orrtanna made it difficult to see the rise of a dwindling smoke plume, but hours after a tractor-trailer filled with hazardous materials was engulfed in flames, the faint smell of burned chemicals still scented the air.

Plant employees were evacuated and neighbors within a half mile of the plant were encouraged to remain indoors with windows shut as eight fire crews worked in rotation to put out the blaze that began at 8:30 a.m. Long after the fire was out, emergency personnel were still working to remove potentially hazardous water from a secure basin, Fairfield Fire and EMS Deputy Chief Adam Jacobs said.

Cashtown Community Fire Chief Jeff Bowling said crews waited before getting too close, until they knew what they were dealing with.

"We had explosions," Bowling said. "The foam, when hit with water, was splattering onto the firefighters."

Several ambulances left the complex, then returned as firefighters continued to work around the blaze.

Seven people were sent to Gettysburg Hospital as a precautionary measure for exposure to burning toluene smoke, said Barry Sparks, WellSpan spokesman.

All seven were treated and released Tuesday afternoon. Of the seven, three were Knouse employees and four were emergency responders, Sparks noted.

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Chambersburg and Waynesboro hospitals each received two patients from the fire scene, said Samantha Cossick, communications coordinator for Summit Health's marketing and public relations department.

All four evaluated at the Franklin County hospitals were discharged Tuesday afternoon, Cossick said.

Knouse Foods shut down its operations Tuesday and will be closed Wednesday to accommodate for cleanup and an ongoing investigation, said Scott Briggs, vice president of human resources with Knouse Foods.

Briggs said he did not know a timetable for Knouse's Orrtanna plant re-opening, but that various agencies and officials will be working to clean and review the area in the coming days.

"The last thing we want to do is get in the way of the review and cleanup. We feel it's prudent to exercise on the side of waiting a day or so," Briggs said.

There was no reported damage to the Knouse facility, Briggs said.

Briggs said the state's Department of Environmental Protection was contacted and that Adams County Department of Emergency Services was also involved with managing the site following the fire.

A private company was installing SpectraShield, a protective foam liner used to restore aging wastewater systems, to a holding tank, Bowling said. Jacobs said the tractor-trailer that caught fire was used as a workplace to apply the lining.

A call was made to the Bryan, Ohio, contractors, but the person who answered the phone would not provide her full name. The Evening Sun does not attribute information to unnamed sources.

When the workers from the contracting company used a generator to start their truck, one of the chemicals onboard ignited, Bowling said, adding that aspartame, propane, diesel fuel and other chemicals were on the truck.

"Anytime you hear of a hazardous material being involved, I get very tense and very concerned," Bowling said.

Bowling said he was uncertain which chemical caused the toluene to enter the air, but said the toxic fumes in the smoke were more dangerous than the runoff.

Company employees from Advanced Rehabilitation Technology were on scene to assist the cleanup process, Briggs said.

Burning toluene emits a toxic smoke that can irritate the eyes and respiratory system, Eline said.

The chemical is commonly mixed with gasoline to improve octane ratings, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency's website. It is also used to as a solvent in paints, coatings, synthetic fragrances, adhesives, inks and cleaning agents, the EPA's site states.

Bowling said firefighters who were taken to the hospital had abnormally high carbon monoxide levels.

Water runoff entering a storm drain behind the trailer was initially an environmental concern, Bowling added. But they were assured that water would be sealed off in a holding tank. Crews were in the process of collecting that runoff Tuesday afternoon.

The fire, initially reported around 8:30 on Tuesday morning, was extinguished at approximately 12:30 Tuesday afternoon, Eline said.

Once Eline confirmed toluene as the chemical involved, he advised emergency personnel to stay upwind from the toxic smoke.

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency helped Eline's department alert anyone within a half-mile radius of the fire to "shelter-in-place," stay indoors and close their doors and windows to avoid exposure to the smoke.

Cashtown, Fairfield and Gettysburg fire departments were dispatched to the Orrtanna factory, Eline said. State police also assisted in the response.

The state's Department of Environmental Protection was also contacted, he said.

Knouse's Orrtanna facility employs 240 people, according to the company's website. The 585,000-square foot plant sits on a 631-acre land plot in Hamiltonban and Highland townships.

Brian Granger, who lives on Carrolls Tract Road, said he drove up the road to ask fire police about the incident and felt they had the situation under control. He said they offered temporary shelter as a precaution, but advised him to stay indoors.

Merry McCoy, another Carrolls Tract Road resident, said she awoke to a loud boom that she later found out was one of the explosions from the tractor-trailer.

She and her daughter watched from their upstairs window as firefighters moved around the gated parking lot.

"No one was rushing or running, so it seemed like they had it under control," she said. "The air smelled like when you leave a grill or appliance running with nothing on it."

Her daughter, 8-year-old Emily Montgomery, said she wasn't so much scared as surprised.

"It was interesting watching the fire trucks and men," she said. "It was fun watching, but I wouldn't want to be where they were."

A fire official lets a vehicle through at the Knouse Foods plant on Tuesday. (Clare Becker — The Evening Sun)